Julie's Avon Author Page

August 05, 2008

The RWA Conference: highlights, and a pictorial of sorts. Also: Vote for your favorite JAL title at AAR!

Hello, darlings. How are things?? I'm still giddy and hoarse, a result of being conference-lagged (a term I've newly coined). And by that I mean...well, as you might have guessed from the big, shiny photos of the unusually well-groomed authors below, I've just returned from the San Francisco RWA conference. Well, I say "just returned," but it was just downtown—it's not like I needed a passport to get there or anything, just a $1.50 for MUNI or a twenty for cab fare. But the conference is always like spending a week on another planet populated entirely by women, every single one of us wearing brand new shoes, every single one of us sporting about five flaming blisters a piece by the end of the week. This is a quick and incomplete pictorial of events, so far mostly courtesy of my buddy and Rita nominee Toni Blake, who has developed the highly useful habit of always having a camera.

Highlights were my incomparable agent Steve Axelrod's 25th Anniversary cocktail party, where I had a wonderful time talking to (but like a nimrod, did not have anyone take photos of me grinning with) some of my all-time favorite authors, including JayneAnne Krentz, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Julia Quinn and Christine Feehan; the Literacy Signing, where I met Diana! Our dear blogger friend Diana!! Yay!! (see the photo below of the two of us laughing hard -- you can see my molars and right up my nostrils); the presentation I did with Agent Steve on Thursday on Why Publishing is Making You Crazy—and What You Can Do About it, which was, according to feedback, both fun and a roaring success, much to our immense, immense relief; drinking margaritas and chowing on empanadas at the cocktail party introducing the new Avon website (it's going to rock), and trading fashion tips, admiring the polished toenails of, and exchanging body hair removal advice with the Avon/HarperCollins girls Julie Blattberg and Rachel (and we also, of course brainstormed brilliantly about how to sell millions of books); the fabulous lunch at Chez Papa Resto with a very entertaining group of authors hostessed by my charming and hilarious editor May Chen (after I first accidentally lead 12 some-odd authors in precisely the opposite direction of the restaurant for a few minutes); the Avon dinner at the Mandarin Hotel, which was delicious and lively and classy, a very generous evening, indeed, and where I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and chatting with Kerrelyn Sparks (on my left, and who was a bit alarmed at how fast this San Francisco girl talks) and local TV producer (KRON-4) Stacy Tiffin, who is a lot of fun and well-informed on a variety of very useful topics, including local media, movies, and Facebook games; meeting and hanging out with the lovely and very sharp and fun Kim Castillo, who is truly an Author's Best Friend; getting to see and hang out again with the always-foxy and hilarious Megan Crane, Michelle Rowen, Liza Palmer, Candice Hern, and many of my other author friends; and the Ritas!!

Toni was nominated for a Rita for her fabulous book Tempt Me Tonight! We sat in the front row of the auditorium during the ceremony, shivering from anticipation and aggressive air conditioning. Everyone looked GORGEOUS. She didn't take home a Rita, but now she joins the very esteemed ranks of those of us who have been nominated and who have departed the award auditorium sans statuettes. It's an exclusive club. :) (and a foxy one.)

Below we have a couple of photos of 1 and 2) me and Toni on Rita night; 3) a photo of me and Julianne Maclean at the Avon dinner (anyone with a "julie" in their name rocks, as far as I'm concerned); 4) me and Diana at the Literacy signing; 5) the funny and delightful Anna Campbell, Jenna Petersen, and me at the Avon dinner, taken by Sophia Nash (also funny and delightful, and in the throes of revisions during the conference); 6) Toni, me, two-time Golden heart winner Jackie Floyd and Lindsey Faber, the producer of the marvelously hilarious Rita Trash Talk video, on Rita night. I'll post more photos as they show up in my inbox. :)

And last but definitely not least: All About Romance tells me they're featuring me in their annual Favorite Books by Favorite Authors poll! Isn't that lovely? What an honor! Eleven other authors are part of it. I have to tell you, I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be included in a poll with the likes of Jayne Anne Krentz.Click here

It was actually warm (for a while anyway) in my neighborhood today, but then again, I live in an area in SF that's usually more warm than not (comparatively speaking, of course).

There was a ballet show last month at Stern Grove, but I didn't attend. It was Alonzo King's Lines Ballet, which I'd never heard of. Are you a ballet fan?

I saw a funny movie today--Pineapple Express. It's a pot action movie, if anyone is a fan of that genre of film. ;) I've been a fan of the two leads from the movie since their days on the TV show Freaks and Geeks, which was canceled too early, in my opinion.

Heather, I was so delighted the conference was in San Francisco this year, because it's usually on the other side of the country! LOL. Five hours or more by plane away! :) Or at least it feels that way. I was hoping RT would be closer to me this year, but it practically couldn't be FARTHER! LOL. It's in Florida. At least I think it is. You'll have a lot of fun at RWA conferences when you join!! HOpe to see you at one very soon!

So how is everybody doing? How's the weather?? The sun came out in my neck of the woods for about four hours today, and then WHOOSH! Fog again!!

Hey Diana -- yeah, we got about four hours of sun today where I am -- came out about 2??. And now I can't see the rooftops of a house three doors down across the street because of the fog. Sigh. LOL. I've seen Alonzo King and love his group!! I'm sorry I zoned out on that particular performance at Stern Grove -- too conference obsessed, perhaps. :) I AM indeed a huge ballet fan -- one good night at the ballet can make me float happily for a week. I try to get season tickets, typically. And the San Francisco ballet is one of the best in the world -- we're very lucky!! I've been very into So You Think You Can Dance -- I think exposing people to all KINDS of dance is a very positive thing, and I'm so happy to see it popularized that way.

I'm cracking up because "a Pot Action Movie" seems like an oxymoron!! ROFL. Isn't that a Judd Apatow movie?? I saw Superbad and nearly sprained something laughing. And everyone I know laments the loss of Freaks and Geeks.

Hey Kay/Kathleen!! :) Glad you enjoyed the pics! And yeah, I must admit, playing dress-up for a week or so is fun, even if it's a scramble to assemble the proper outfits before the conference. Most of California is pretty casual in the workplace to begin with, and since I haven't had a traditional day in several years, my wardrobe consists of jeans and t-shirts and sweaters to throw over the tshirts and a few very dressy, going-out things...and practically *nothing* in between. Oh, and boots. Love me a good pair of boots. :) So the conference is an excuse to shop. :)

Hey Martha!! Glad you liked the pics!! :) Thanks for coming by! How's life treating you this week?? Is it really only Monday?? LOL.

Yep, the Sunset's changed a lot since I was a kid there, but the weather hasn't changed all that much ;) I used to commute downtown during the summers, and I'd dress warmly in the morning, hop on the streetcar, and emerge from the tunnel into the bright sunshine downtown. At the end of the day, the reverse would happen--go down from the sunshine into the tunnel, and then re-emerge into the world of fog... Ah, good times :)

I've never visited DC before either, and would love to see lots of the places there, but the hot muggy summer weather does not appeal...

Came from your newsletter. I am also trying to enter you on the poll. I found a couple of authors I did not know but familiar with several but like your books better.
Hope you have a good day. You have my vote.

yeah, Fedora, you know what the trip to/fro through the tunnel Haight Tunnel (I think it's called East Portal) reminds me of? That scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy opens the door of her house (after it lands in Oz) and suddenly everything goes from black and white to color!! LOL. It's weird that the weather can be so dramatically different within the space of ten minutes, and it's impossible for me to explain to people who haven't experienced it for themselves. They don't believe me!! I used to wear a summer dress to work, and come home to howling winds and gray skies. LOL. Ah, San Francisco is wacky.

Hey Maureen! Thanks for coming by! :) It *was* awfully nice to have the conference at home and it was nice that the weather behaved so everyone could really experience how beautiful San Francisco is in its best light. :), but it almost meant I didn't plan as meticulously as I might have. Ahem. LOL. I kept accidentally leaving things at home and needing to run back and forth for them, etc. :) Lesson learned!!

Jane, you're so sweet to vote!! :) And thanks for coming by! Life treating you OK so far this week?? Still foggy here. (You all might have guessed that by now. LOL.). The good thing about this poll is that we can vote for ALL the authors in it, so if you like the other authors, too, go to town! :) LOL. I'm going to vote! How it works is...AAR notices when their large, regular contingent of visitors/site participants really enjoy reading and discussing particular authors, and this time, these authors include me, Teresa Medeiros, Amanda Quick, Jo Goodman, Marian Keyes, and others. :) As a guide for visitors either new to AAR or new to these authors, AAR is asking voters to vote for their favorite books written by any or ALL these authors, so curious new readers will have a list of titles to guide them in discovering a new author. Because most of us discover new authors through recommendations from trusted friends! I know I discovered all of those authors through recommendations. And it's wonderful to considered alongside authors I've loved for a long time.

I'll be curious to see if my favorites by these authors are everyone else's favorites, too!! :)

Wow, glamorous is right. I'm glad you and everybody else had a great time. I (almost) wish I were an author myself to get to see all my favorite authors. I say "almost" because I know what a lousy author I am. I certainly can't find or make up a story for the life of me.

I've voted; it took me a while to find the right place but with a little bit of perseverance I managed to find the correct page. I didn't know there was so much going on at AAR.

Another nice day we're having, it seems. I've yet to step out, but will do so shortly.

Pot action movie is an oxymoron, but the two potheads in the film manage to be pretty alert and bad ass when required. Pineapple Express is indeed a Judd Apatow movie (he produced it). I laughed a lot during Superbad, too. Have you seen other Apatow movies such as Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or The 40-Year-Old Virgin?

Hi Sara! Thanks for coming by to say hi! :) And I'm delighted you love my books. Can't wait to hear what you guys think of Like No Other Lover when it comes out!

Ranurgis, I'm glad you were able to vote-- thanks!! And thanks for the heads-up regarding the link issue in my newsletter -- I had a comma in there after the "www" instead of a dot. Shame on me!! One day I hope you to make it to an RWA conference -- it's an experience and a half, and I know we authors would all love to meet you!!

Diana, I haven't seen any other Apatow movies besides Superbad, but I have a few friends who INSIST I see Knocked Up. :) The last movie I saw was the Hunter S. Thompson documentary, which was fabulous, and I want to see that Ben Kingsley/Penelope Cruz one. Looks interesting. I get woefully behind on movie watching when I'm working. LOL. I have a friend who's doing a sequential NetFlix rundown of all Best Picture Oscar winners, which strikes me as a good idea.

Kim -- thanks for voting!! :) And the next conference after DC is in Nashville?? Cool! I have a friend there, too -- childhood playmate who's a stylist for a record label. :) *Everyone's* in the music industry there, seems like. LOL. I'd love to explore the town! San Diego will be great, too -- more good CA summer weather!! And of course, half the fun of conferences is exploring the town's restaurants. :)

Hi Ann!! Thanks for popping in!! Glad you enjoyed the photos! :) I'm not sure I captured all the little conference details as well as I could have, but at a certain point it all becomes a blur, anyway. LOL. A bit like a dream!! THanks for voting, too!

Ok, pumpkins, ringing in later on this (oy -- unexpectedly very busy) Friday - are you all happy the weekend is here?? So I used my magic Excel Macro to randomly choose a winner of a signed copy of POP -- and it's Suzie Lockhart! Woo hoo, Suzie!! Suzie, shoot me an email and tell me where to send the book!! Happy Friday to everyone, and hope you do something fun and/or relaxing this weekend! Me, I'll be writing. ANd writing and writing. :) And the kitchen needs a good scrubbing. But I might need to get out and see Tropic Thunder, anyway. LOL.